Clemens Indicted for Lying to Congress

Former Major league Star Roger Clemens is being indicted for being an ass. Actually he's just an ass for being an ass but is being indicted for lying to Congress about his use of Performance Enhancing Drugs.
I'm glad the federal judicial system has nothing else to do these days. It's not like the taxpayers could use that cash elsewhere.

Clueless Joe

When the Yankees let Buck Showalter go and brought in Joe Torre, the famous headline of "Clueless Joe" was printed on the front cover of the New York Daily News. Well, seems like the Daily News was about 14 years early. In what has been the running of theme of these playoffs, Girardi's managing- or rather mismanaging has finally cost them a game and has also gotten the Angels right back into this thing.

There was the micro managing of the bullpen in round one. The pulling of Pettite early in Game 3 and some other not-so-worthy moments that we glanced over because of Arod and Jeter's heroics, we didn't seem to care.
Game 2 in the ALCS saw Girardi pinch run for Nick Swisher in the 7TH Inning of a tie game, using Coke and Chamberlain for too short a period in a tie game that eventually could have burnt Girardi and then using another pinch runner in the 9th, to now having Guzman and Gardner protect Arod in the late stage of a tie game of an ALCS (which makes Arod's HR off Fuentes the other night that much more amazing. Plus, how does Fuentes throw a down the middle fastball there with those guys in the wait?).

Well, last night the Yankees Magic couldn't bail out Girardi's Knumbskullness (new word?).
I don't really have a problem with leaving Pettite in there for the 7th. He was pitching well and had not thrown too many pitches. You can't kill Girardi there. He brought in Joba and Marte when we was supposed to. Marte did the job, getting Figgins out with one pitch and a runner in scoring position to end the inning.
Here's where Girardi's micro managing, mismanaging, drunken stupor, whatever you want to call it started. It's a tie game. Late innings. Just coming off a 13 inning game two nights before. So of course, Joe removes Marte after ONE PITCH, to bring in ANOTHER LEFTY ( Coke) to pitch to ONE BATTER, and now, he is left without a single lefty in the pen in a tie game- late. Ummmm, why? What possible reason could there be to make that change?
Ok, so in the top of that inning Matsui leads off with a walk. He brings in Gardner to pinch run. No problem there. Stay out of the Double Play, score on a ball into the gap, first to third on a single, it's the right move. Posada is up, first pitch strike. 0-1. Pitcher throws over to first base a few times. And then Gardner tries to steal second on the IDEAL PITCHOUT count. So of course, Scocia, a real Manager, pitches out, nails Gardner easily and there goes the threat. Now keep in mind, John Sterling- probably the most clueless baseball announcer in history was saying this prior to the pitchout so how doesn't a Major League Manager know this? Inexcusable. Of course, Posada then goes deep and ties the game which potentially could have been a go ahead HR.
Now the inexplicable of inexplicabilities happens (another TPC addition to the Miriam Webster Dictionary). Bottom of the 11th, postseason star Dave Robertson (who also mind you led the majors in Strikouts per Nine Innings this season) was in the game cruising along, easily getting out the first two batters. Now remember, tie game, again, 11th inning. Yankees have only Gaudin and Aceves left in the pen. So, for no reason whatsoever, Girardi pulls Robertson (after a whopping 11 pitches) for Aceves, who has been very shaky in the postseason (he gave up the run in the 11th the other night when Arod bailed him out). First batter singles, next batter doubles, game over. Angels go crazy on the field, get a major pump of life back into their chests in their homefield and now it's a series again.
I have seen many bad managerial moves and second guesses. Torre had tons of questionable moves. But they were "questionable". These moves had no rhyme, reason or defense. Coaches can win Football games and basketball games. They can only lose Baseball games and Girardi just cost the Yankees big yesterday.

Manny Being Manny

Major League Baseball today, suspended it's biggest star to date under it's new drug policy, as Manny Ramirez- possibly the most dangerous right handed hitter in the history of baseball was suspended for 50 games due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.
A few interesting points in this matter:

1. Manny allegedly tested positive for a Sexual Enhancing PED, which only goes to grow the 'Manny being Manny" legend. Seriously, if there was a draft to pick one star who would test positive for PED's but it not being steroids but a Super Edition Version of Viagra, wouldn't Manny be the consensus #1 overall pick?(keep in mind, some authorities say the Sexual enhancer actual aids in keeping testosterone at high levels after a steroid cycle. Personally, the Manny being Manny story is much funnier).
2. You think maybe Joe Torre is such a players coach because he turns a blind eye to certain player "activities" and just manages egos? Now, I love Torre as a Manager, but look at his track record. Yes, Giambi, Sheffield, Arod, etc were all users prior to joining the Yanks, but maybe, just maybe Torre looked the other way when the acquisitions were being contemplated?
3. We will now see why Manny is the Most Valuable asset in any lineup. When he left Boston, Big Papi was transformed from the Most Feared left handed hitter in baseball to the hitter Steinbrenner passed on after he left the Twins, and he turned a Dodger lineup that was average at best to the #1 hitting lineup in the NL this year. Say what you want about Manny, but the guy hits like no one else

The Greatest Defensive Players- By Position in Baseball History

TPC is currently competing in Sports2Debate's first ever Blog Madness Tournament, and has been matched up against My Sports Rumors in the opening round of the North Region.

Here is the first question. TPC urges his fans to vote early and often!

-Name your All-Defense Team, using every player in the history of MLB.

-One player at every position listed below.

-Back up your statements with facts. Refute your opponents points.

-C: 1B: 2B: SS: 3B: OF(3): P(3):

The Peoples Champ has been known to be offensive at time (or if I was Canadian Oh-fensive), so we now we go the way of defense, and as TPC will tell you- Defense Wins Championships- and therefore, the Greatest Defensive Team in History will have it's share of rings.

First and foremost, if you want a great defensive team, you need to limit the amount of hard hit balls at you, so on the mound we will have the Greatest Pitcher of the Modern Era- the one with the lowest career WHIP (1.0512), which is Pedro Martinez. When he was in his prime his WHIP was always an unearthly Sub 1.00, which means he doesn't get hit. It's a lot easier to play D when the ball isn't getting hit hard at you. I'm a Yankee fan, and nothing makes me hurt more than putting a Red Sox on this list, but Pedro was the best I ever saw.

In dealing with the rest of the squad, we will take into account a few things:
The players range (as defined by his range versus his peers, gold gloves (although subjective), using The People's Eye- you don't need to have statistical proof that Ozzie Smith was a genius, and general stuff I like to throw in). We also take into account the player must have played 1000 games minimum to define a decent work.

Anyone who has watched baseball knows Keith Hernandez with his two World Series rings and record 12 Gold Glove Awards at 1b is the best player at that position. When you take into account putouts per game (a very telling stat for 1b) Hernandez is one of the tops in the modern era and factoring in range and fielding percentage he has no peers.

At 2b we have Bill Mazeroski and Ryne Sandberg. Statistically, no one else is in the game. Mazeroski had a range factor of 123 to Sandberg's 122. Joe Morgan, Frank White and Roberto Alomar, all of whom are generally considered as some of the best defensive 2b in history have range factor between 105-110. (Range Factor - the number of (Putouts + Assists) per game (or 9 innings played). Sandberg gets the nod because he has the highest fielding percentage in history at the position at .989 (Mazeroski is at .983). He gets to the most balls and he catches the most by percentage? Uh-huh, that's the guy I want. Sandberg also has 9 Gold Gloves to Mazeroski's 8.

At SS I will not insult any one's intelligence with statistical proof that Ozzie Smith is the greatest of all time at his position. Anyone who has ever seen him play knows this 100%. Bill James once told Peter Gammons Ozzie saved his team over 100 runs per season. That's the difference between a 3.50 and a 4.30 ERA for a pitcher. WOW.

I love Greg Nettles. I loved how he single handedly saved the 1978 World Series with his glove. I also loved the way Buddy Bell and Mike Schmidt played the position. All great 3b. However, Brooks Robinson, who not coincidentally has the All time Fielding percentage mark at 3b (.971 compared to Bells .964, Nettles .961 and Schmidt's .965) with good range, great arm, etc etc. Brooks is your man. Brooks also owns 13 Gold Gloves, the most by any 3b.

To round up the infield, our Catcher is the hardest position to "prove" who was the best defensively. Some think it was Pudge- no one threw out runners at a higher clip, some say it was Bench who had good throwing percentages and better passed ball and wild pitch numbers than Pudge, and some say it was a guy like Brad Ausmus, who statistically is as good all around as anyone who ever played the game. However, Catcher is also a position of Generalship (did i just make that word up) and I'll go with Yogi Berra who was one of the all time greats in preventing wild pitches and passed balls, and he also has 14 pennant winning flags to prove it.

In Center Field, as much as I would like to put Joe D or The Mick or even Willie Mays on this list, Richie Ashburn was the statistically best CF'er of them. First off, the most important stat for a CF'er is the range factor, in other words, how many extra balls do they get to than the average guy at that position. Ashburn has the top Range Factor in Major League history of any outfielder at 147. To put that in perspective, Gary Maddox was 2nd on the list at 140 and Mays was at 136, while Ashburn had a better Fielding Percentage than Mays and was even with Maddox at .983. No one else is even in the statistical discussion. Ashburn also had the best "arm" amongst the group throwing out an average of 16% more players than the average OF'er while Mays was at 5%. Kirby Puckett had an astonishing 48% better mark, but he got to 20% less balls with a worse fielding percentage, so he isn't in the discussion.

The corner OF'ers we have to adjust the stats for, being range is important but an arm is more important because of the amount of run prevention a good arm accounts for. It's why I would take Jesse Barfield and Roberto Clemente (moving Robbie over to left) as my two corner Of'ers. First Barfield. He had the best arm in Major League Baseball history, throwing out more than twice the amount of runners than the average ML Of'er (his number is actually 202). He had a good fielding percentage and decent range to boot. Clemente had slightly better range and the second best arm of all time, throwing out 78% more runners than average. To put these numbers in perspective, Bonds, some considered an all time great fielding Left Fielder prior to his "alleged" steroid issue, had slightly better range and Fielding Percentage numbers, but through 2005 (his numbers since have decreased dramatically) he threw out 35% more runners on average. Basically, Barfield and Clemente prevented a ton of singles turning into doubles, guys going first to third or scoring from 2B on a single, and they have done it while playing RF, the most taxing in terms of throwing runners out..

Well, there you have the greatest fielding team in history according to The People's Champ.

(statistics were mostly taken from http://baseball-stats-online.com- a truly great site).

TPC Sport Thoughts- Cassel, Cutler, Wade and more

Over the weekend we saw the Chiefs trade a 2nd round draft pick and a guaranteed $14M for Matt Cassel. As my millions and millions of loyal readers know, TPC is not a big fan of Cassel and thinks it was very apropo for the poor K.C. Chiefs to trade for the overpriced system QB. When you let Herm Edwards ruin your franchise and all time great Fantasy Football systems, why stop there?
Cassel is a very good QB in terms of mobility, but as I pointed out many times Cassel came into the perfect situation. He had a very good offensive line. Two Pro Bowl Wide Receivers (Moss and Welker) and basically the same team that broke almost every passing record in NFL history the year before. With all that he had modest success, 21 TD's and 11 INT's with a QB rating of 89.4 and a 7.2 Yards Per Attempt. Keep in mind this was also against one of the worst NFL schedules in recent years. Compare that to Tom Brady's 2007 stats and you wonder what all the fuss is about with Cassel (50TD's 8Int's a 117 passing rating a YPA of 8.3).

Now, while all this was going on, seemingly the Denver Broncos were willing to throw Jay Cutler into the mix in order to have a shot at Cassel. Why would a team with a 26 year old up and coming Pro Bowl QB stud in Cutler go after a guy like Cassel is really mind boggling. Now granted, I have said many times prior that Cutler hasn't been as good as his statistics would lead you to believe and the fact is, he makes big mistakes at bad times. However, he is also only 26 and is the most physically gifted QB in the NFL bar none. When he's on his game, no one can do what he can do, with his arm strength and mobility. Yes, he has a big mouth and yes he's prone to the big mistake, but he's freakin only 26- a puppy in NFL QB years. You can make a very good case that if the NFL put all their players in a big pool and started a draft tomorrow, Cutler would be a top 10 pick at worst and possibly top 3, while Cassel wouldn't go in the top 50. So why does Josh McDaniels and new Denver Management do this? Who knows. Maybe they are just showing their inexperience. Maybe there's more to Cutler being a pain in the toochas than we all know.

The Bucs signed former Giant Derrick Ward for a 4 year $17M deal which will not make the Buc fans happy. Yes, he's a decent back but Ward made a living facing a defensive front that just got it's teeth smashed in by Brandon "The Real Deal" Jacobs. You can put any decent back in behind Jacobs and that offensive line and he will be successful. Ward was a product of that system.

Between the Cassel-Cutler fiasco and the Ward deal, you wonder what you need to do to become a GM in the National Football League.

At least the Jets got it right by signing the right LB from Baltimore and not paying for the overpriced and overaged Ray Lewis. Bart Scott was the right man for the Jets and will help shore up that defense.

Dwayne Wade had an incredible week, scoring 24 points in the 4th Quarter to lead a 16 point comeback againts the Knicks and then fell just short in his Mano a Mano game vs. Lebron last night scoring 41 points, 7 rebounds 9 assists and 7 steals. WOW. You can take Kobe all day, for my money D-Wade is the second dog to King James.

We're about a month away from opening day and the most dangerous hitter we have ever seen (Manny Ramirez) is still waiting for a call. This after he posted a monster second half- averaging about an RBI a game and hitting .400 leading the Dodgers to the postseason. Amazing times we live in.

Why Arod-Gate will Help the Yanks

It happens almost every year. The Yankees sign the best and brightest (and of course- most expensive) of the Free Agent Class, have a blow out press conference, all smiles and back slapping, and then the business of actually playing baseball starts.
Usually around the middle of May the fans get impatient because the $10-$20M a year guy is hitting .230 or the pitcher is sporting a 5.76 ERA and we all remember the focus and attention in NY is unlike any other place, especially after someone signs a huge contract. The pressure is enormous even for the best of them.
It happened to Giambi, Arod, Pavano, Abreu, Clemens, etc, it always takes time for the player to adjust. The main reasons are simple 1) getting used to living in a place like NY, and 2) getting used to the constant media and fan pressure which a big contract brings upon oneself in a place like NY.

What the whole Arod saga did was make people forget (and the scrutiny on Arod will only get bigger once he reports to camp and when the book comes out in May) the big contracts signed by Sabathia, Burnett and Texiera. Amazingly, living in NY I haven't even heard a peep about the Big Three in weeks. Normally, the pressure and scrutiny -especially- on Sabathia and Texiera would be so great, they would be hard pressed to succeed right off the bat. It's rarely done here in NY. Mussina had some early success, but other than him I don't recall a big Free Agent that got off to a fast NY start. Arod has helped these guys immensely and in turn the Yankees, amazingly as that might sound.

Yankees Signings- It's Good for Baseball- TPC's Take

Once again the Yankees turned the baseball world upside down, with their covert maneuvers in signing Mark Teixeira, the premier offensive free agent player of the 2008-09 offseason.
Until the deal was inked, most had been led to believe Teixeira was contemplating the Nationals offer of between $174M-$185M (and whether they would be able to sign other big names to form a competitive team in the Nations Capital) or the Boston offer, presumed to be anywhere from $20-$24M a year for 6 years.
Well, when we all heard the news the Yankees came in- basically out of nowhere- to ink the star first baseman, shock waves were sent throughout the baseball and sports world.
The Yankees now have the 4 largest contracts in Baseball (Jeter, Arod, Sabathia and now Teixiera). There is growing sentiment and concern that they are ruining the game and now small market teams "really" can't compete. My question is, why all of a sudden now? What is different today then yesterday? Let's analyze.
The Yankees always went after the big names and the big contracts. In years past, they made big mistakes. They signed pitchers to big contracts that were past their prime (Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson) or unproven-especially from a health perspective (Jarret Wright and the Infamous Carl Pavano). The offensive players they signed had similar issues (Giambi and Damon). You can make a very good case that Cashman has done a horrible job in his assessment of free agent pitchers. The only big name free agent who was in his prime that was signed over this time period was Mussina (a deal that worked out just fine for the Yanks). Every other signing was either for a pitcher in his mid 30's or who had major health risks.
This years signings- at least the Sabathai and Teixiera signings- were different in that both are young, in their primes, and have never had health issues. These were great signings. You lock up a top 3 ML picther at age 28, who has pitched in big games- and pitched well, and the games best all around First Baseman, also at age 28. The Burnett signing actually is similar to the ones mentioned above, a 32 year old pitcher who has had basically 3 healthy years in his career- all walk years. The only reason that the Burnett signing can be seen as a positive to TPC is he is essentially the #4 starter in terms of talent and major league success (I would take CC, Wang and Joba over him easily). With the pressure being off, maybe he avoids the issues that Pavano, Brown, Johnson, etc have endured by being a savior to the staff. That falls to Sabathia and it says here, C.C. will be just fine in that role. With the being said, TPC would have spent that money elsewhere (and not Derrek Lowe either).
Next major falsehood being spewed in various circles is the Yankees are blowing up the salary structure of baseball and makes the divide between small and large market much larger. This is completely false. The Yankees payroll as currently constituted for 2009 is actually 10% LOWER than in 2008. Basically, the Yankees traded Giambi's $23M 2008 salary for Teixiera's $23M 2009 salary. A great trade by anyone's estimation. They traded Mussina ($12m) Pavano (13M) Pettite ($16M) for Burnett and Sabathia. They still have about $25M left to spend on one more pitcher and for reserve. TPC suggests if Pettite doesn't want the $10M, go with a rotation of CC, Wang, Burnett, Joba and either Hughes or Kennedy. I think Hughes will turn out to be a very viable top of the rotation guy and his salary structure keeps the Yankees somehwhat cost effective for 3 of their current spots (Wang makes $6m this year and Joba and Hughes are under a million each). What the Yankees did was sign all their big deals in one season, rather than stagger them as they had in years past. It was also the smarter move, as the Yankees now have a core IF of Arod-Tex-Jeter and Cano, with Jeter being the oldest at 34 and a pitching staff of 5 under 32 (Burnett being the oldest at 32). They just got much better and much younger with the 3 signings with a smaller payroll than that in 2008.
The Yankees also just paid $26M to a luxury tax that goes partly to the smaller market teams. I don't see the Royals or Pirates giving that back. Nor do I see anyone complain when the Yankees are in town and their attendance rockets-thereby selling more tickets, merchandise, food, etc. The Yanks led MLB last year with an average attendance of 44,131 fans per game- a far cry from the Marlins and their 25,000. If the Yankees weren't the "Damn Yankees" those road attendance numbers would not be where the are. The Yankees (and the Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, Dodgers) being good is good for Baseball. It drives attendance, interest, TV rights, merchandising, etc. It makes money for baseball. It's like the economy. It's good when people get rich. It gives opportunity to the people the rich support. If the rich are doing poorly, their businesses have cuts, people lose jobs, they spend less, the circle goes round, etc. (as we see in todays economy). The Yankees outspending and making a big media splash is good for the small market teams. As Buster Olney reported earlier- "And they do have defenders even among the small-market teams. "They just got a luxury tax bill of $26.9 million, didn't they?" another AL official asked rhetorically. "They always pay, don't they? The other teams cash their checks, don't they?" "The Yankees are great for baseball, just like the Red Sox and the Cubs are great for baseball, because they generate interest and they generate money for all of us. Today, somebody is going to pick up a paper overseas and there will be something in there on the Yankees' signing of Teixeira. Do you think that would happen if there was some trade between small-market teams? People pay attention to the Yankees, and that's good for our sport." Exactly.
The last major point, is the Texiera signing actually improves their current investements in other players. Arod's worth just gets increased by having a great hitter (a switch hitter nonetheless) hitting in front of him. It makes his current contract more valuable. Teixeira is the best hitter since Sheffield to hit in front of him and that was an MVP season for Arod (which it says here, he will win it again this season). He also takes some of the media spotlight away from Arod, which can only help. He makes the rest of the lineup more powerful. He also makes the defense stronger and increases the value of Arod, Jeter and Cano's defense. It's a no brainer move- a far cry from the defensive liability that is Giambi.
The Yankees spending hasn't change one bit. The only difference is, they are spending it smarter, which makes them better, which is better for baseball.

Yanks Sign Teixeira

John Heyman is reporting the Yankees and Mark Teixiera agree to an 8 year $180M deal.
The Yankees keep flexing their financial muscle and sign their 3rd monster Free Agent of the 2008 offseason.
The People's Champ will comment on this great signing a bit later.

Sabathia and Burnetts Impact- No Texiera? TPC Thoughts

There has been a recent school of thought on the Yankees spending spree ($240M combined on Sabathia and Burnett) and how it will affect them in a negative way in the future. Our friend, The Ducks made this comment recently.

Duck Views: There's always an opportunity cost, TPC. Always. And it says right here that Teixeira is a HUGE, HUGE opportunity cost. Had the yankees paid a SOMEWHAT reasonable premium for Sabathia, and not signed burnett, they could have had Teixeira. And what a dual signing that would be-- Sabathia and Texeira??? I'd take that over Sabathia/Burnett any day.

As usual, The Ducks are wrong and totally are missing the point. Besides the fact that Texiera will cost $200M and Burnett $85M, there are more important issues.
Let's take the Sabathia deal where the Ducks said:

Ducks:I see your house is on the market and you're asking $750K, TPC.
TPC: Yep.
Ducks: Any offers so far?
TPC: Not really, I mean, one guy did offer $450K, not sure if he's serious, though.
Ducks: We'll give you $950K, TPC
TPC: Really?
Ducks: Ha. Nah. Make it $1.25 Mil
TPC: Deal, But if the house goes up in value over the next 3 years, I'd like to be able to opt-out.
Ducks: You got it.

The fact is, the Yankees offer of $23M a year is not much more than the original Brewers offer of $20M per year. Biggest difference is length of the contract and being C.C. is only 28, he will only be 35 his final year of the contract-essentially still in his formative years. Being Sabathia is a top 5 pitcher at worst right now, let's see other starters in that salary stratosphere.

Johan Santana, age 30 (2 years older than C.C.) $22.75M a year average over 6 years.
Carlos Zambrano age 27, $18.3M 5 years
Barry Zito age 30, $18M 6 years.
Jason Schmidt age 36, 1 more year at $15.6M

Obviously, Sabathia is on par in excellence only with Santana in that group. He's also a good peer, not just in terms of talent but in terms of economics and location (both play in NY). You can make a very good economic case that $20M per year for Milwaukee is a lot more than $23M per for the Yanks. In fact, the Brewers entire payroll was $81M last year, so C.C. would in essence be 25% of that. The Yankees had a $209M payroll, so C.C. comes in around 11%, less than half of the Brewers offer.
The Burnett deal I didn't like, not because the salary was more than others were offering (from all reports the Yankees offer was best because the guaranteed the 5th year), but because of the health risk and the fact that his prior 200IP seasons were all "walk years". That scares me. That has a lot of Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano rings to it.
The Ducks main contention was opportunity cost and the fact that this will prevent the Yankees from signing Texiera. That notion is 100% false, and here's why.
The Yankees payroll as of today is still $45M less than last year due to Giambi, Abreu, Pavano, Mussina, etc contracts coming off. They have made offers for Texiera, but the reports that I have read are the Yankees don't really love him that much. There is thought that he is a numbers compiler and when it comes to clutch situations, they don't want another A-Rod on their hands. Basically, they made the offer more as window dressing than anything else. A written by MLB.com's Tom Singer "There is a belief within the game that New York is feigning interest in Teixeira simply to drive up the price for Boston -- which, aside from its prior interest, now also needs the slugger to counter its rivals' hoarding of pitchers".
With that being said, the Yankees will probably sign another pitcher and a bat (possibly in the Mike Cameron deal). Buster Olney has reported the Yankees payroll will actually be 10-15% less than last year (plus the luxury tax savings) so in essence the Cashman plan of building through youth (Joba, Hughes, Cano, etc) and still being competitive is working. The staff is anchored by 4 guys who are under 30 (Sabathia, Burnett, Wang-28, and Joba-24). That is much different than the days of overspending for an aged rotation of Johnson, Brown, Mussina(who was worth the money but still in his mid 30's), Leiber, etc.

Yanks Get Their Man C.C.- The People's Take

Typical of the way things work in the New York Baseball scene, less than 12 hours after the Mets sign the best Free Agent Closer available in K-Rod (around 3PM yesterday afternoon, The Mets and Francisco Rodriguez today agreed on a three-year, $37 million contract- which by the way is an amazing deal for the Amazin's, considering K-Rod entered the market, wanting 5 years and $75M), The Yankees signed the #1 Free Agent Pitcher on the market, agreeing to terms with C.C. Sabathia at around 2AM EST last night on a 7 year $160M deal, the richest deal for a pitcher in ML history. Despite various reports and rumors, Sabathia didn't wait for that West Coast offer that was supposedly coming (either from the Giants, Dodgers or Angels) and went to New York for the big bucks and the bigger responsibility.
The Yankees spend $25M more on Sabathia and kept prospects Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera (some even think Robinson Cano) rather than going for Johan Santana last season.
The big question is, did they make the right decision?
First and foremost, lets take money out of the equation. Yes. I know we are talking about a combined $285Millllllllllllion dollars here (read in Dr. Evil voice with pinky dangling from the corner of your mouth), but this is the Yankees and the Yankees have more money than pretty much everyone these days-including the Federal Government (and you can make a good case they spend theirs a lot wiser). When it comes to money, the Yankees $160M is a lot less to them than say $160M to any other major league franchise. They just have so much more of it with playing in the NY market, their own TV network, the new Stadium, etc.
The real question here is: Is C.C., Hughes, Kennedy and Melky worth more than Santana?
Statistically speaking, Santana has been the best pitcher in baseball the last 6 years, bar none. CC has been the best the last 2, winning the CY Young Award in the AL for 2007 and having one of the great runs in recent ML history last season when he was traded to the Brewers (11-2 1.65 ERA 7CG 3 SHO in 17 games started, including pitching his last 3 times on 3 days rest). Santana is a year younger than CC. Career wise, they are close in IP, however CC has averaged roughly 20 more IP a season the last 3 than Santana. They are both extremely durable. They both pitched incredibly down the stretch this season allowing for each of their respective teams to stay in the race to the last day. For their careers, C.C.'s best month has been September, closely followed by August, whereas Johan finishes similarly strong, just being a tad better in August than September. In other words, when the going gets tough down the stretch, these two legitimate aces can carry their teams on their backs- a must for a #1 starter.
Last season was a perfect example of this: Santana was 7-0 in 87 IP with 81 k's and an ERA of 1.87 from August 1 till seasons end last year (as I wrote here, he should have been the NL CY Young). Not to be outdone, Sabathia was 7-2 in 92 IP with a 1.55 ERA and 94 k's, which included pitching on 3 days rest his final 3 starts, which is unheard of these days, to get the Brewers in the playoffs.
One disconcerting issue with both (Sabathia more than Santana) is their failure to "keep it up" into the postseason. Both have losing records and both have been far from duplicating their regular seasons success in the postseason, with C.C. being far worse, getting shelled twice by Boston last year and once by the Phillies this season. You can't ignore this aspect, but you can also attribute the fact that they were both depended on possibly too much down the stretch (especially in C.C.'s case) that possibly we can attribute that to their (and especially Sabathia's) lack of postseason success.
Clearly we can see, in both cases, this is far from signing a severely declining Barry Zito, or a one year health wonder in Pavano. Both guys are at the top of the Pitching food chain for years, always healthy and in their respective primes. This more closely resembles the Braves signing of Maddux (just after winning his first CY Young) and the Yankees initial 7 year signing of Mike Mussina, both very successful signings.
The fact is, the Yankees spent an extra $25m for a pitcher very similar in stature and caliber to Santana, and I say that with the highest respect for both. They kept 3 prospects (leave Cano out of this for now) who have lost tremendous value over the last year. However, keep in mind, Hughes wont turn 23 until mid season. Kennedy will be only 24 in two weeks and Melky (also 24)- who has already proven himself both offensively (despite last years regression) and defensively (no one argues about Melky's defensive prowess)- to be at worst, a good #4 major league OF'er. You don't give up on guys who have had this much success while they are so young.
While Hughes' durability is a huge question that needs to be answered, he has shown ability-extreme ability- at the major league level, to hold out a lot of hope (including postseason success). He also pitched well in Winter Ball this season, to continue that hope.
Kennedy has shown much less at the major league level, however there is still hope here as well. He has also pitched well in winter ball and is working with his former coach on some mechanic changes that some scouts liken to Tom Glavine's early career troubles (not to compare for a second the two vastly different pitchers).
The People's take is the Yankees did the right thing. All they sacrificed was money and they have plenty of that to go around, especially with their recent expiring contracts (Pettite, Mussina, Abreu, Giambi, etc). They still have their youth movement. They have a core rotation of 3 studs 30 or under (C.C., Wang and Joba). They still need help both in pitching depth (reports have it, that the Yanks are close to signing Derrek Lowe for 4 years $68M and possibly even A.J. Burnett- it says here signing AJ will be a huge mistake). This signing goes a long way towards the Yankees regaining their supremacy in the A.L. East. Great move by Cashman and the Yanks.

Publish Post

Quick Hits- NFL, Game 7 and Random TPC Rants

An amazing Game 7 last nioght concluded in one of the most surprising ways I have ever seen a big game end. A relative newcomer, rookie David Price striking out J.D. Drew with the bases loaded in the 8th and then retiring 3 out of 4 in the 9th for the save and the chance for the Rays to go to the World series. People outside baseball's inner circles may not know that Price was the 2007 #1 overall pick and he showed it wit nasty stuff that already earned him his big signing bonus.
Amazingly Price started the year in Class A and didnt move up to the majors until his late Septmeber call up and here he was in Game 7 of the ALCS doing the left handed version of Mariano Rivera.
Matt Garza, ALCS MVP, was nearly unhittable all night and bested an also game Jon Lester. Just a great game, a great series, and a great Boston loss.

I remember when Big Papi and Jason Varitek used to scare me in big spots. I was actually happy to see them up in the 8th and 9th yesterday.

I'm going to have to pick the Rays in 6 against Philly. They have too much going for them and I still don't trust Lidge in a big spot.
What a future for the Rays- Upton, Longoria, Pena, Navarro, Garza, Kasmir, Shields and Price.

Switching to the NFL, it's about time the Brady Quinn era started in Cleveland. Anderson seems about cooked.
Amazing what a coaching change can do. The Rams all of a sudden look like world beaters with the change from Linehan to Haslett.

The Cowboys could use a similar change. Wade Phillips is done. He's just an awful coach. So much talent, such a waste.

Chris Johnson is a stud. He is the second most exciting back behind AP and proves it week in and week out.

Kyle Orton is showing he is a solid NFL QB and gives the Bears a dimension they haven't had in years.
Same with Edwards in Buffalo. he's bordering on being in the upper echelon of NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE QB's.

I warned you about Carson Palmer. Don't say I didn't.

The more I watch Big Ben play the more I like him.

And yes, I still like Eli a lot and he is still a Top 8 NFL QB right now.

Looks like TPC was right about Mr. Bill not being such a great mastermind after all, sans The GOAT- Tom Brady.

Tennesse will be a force all year. Only teams that can beat them in the AFC are Pitt, SD and the Jets. yes, crazy as it sounds the Jets will be a better team as the season goes on and will have games where they look awesome. They have no glaring weaknesses, as all teh other AFC squads do and their offense can be lethal. They will also have Favre winning or losing games for them in big spots. He's the x-factor. Problem is Mangini is not a good NFL coach.

Colts can't win. Neother can Denver. They both can't stop the run.

More to come after the holidays. A Gut Kvitel to all.

Baseball TV Rant- Why TBS??????????

What the hell is the ALCS doing on some third rate cable station (WTBS?)??????????????????

WHAT THE F IS UP WITH THAT??????????????????????????????????

Again, this shows you exactly why Baseball has taken a major back seat to Football in this country and it's no wonder that my six year old son barely knows any players outside the Yankees and that crap squad from Flushing. Seriously, the kid knows NBA players and NFL players because he gets to see them on TV. He never gets to see out of town baseball games because it's always on too late and/or it takes his Dad forever to find where the hell the freaking AL and NL Champioship Series games are being played. What an awful decision by MLB.

Quick Game 7 thoughts ALCS- Tampa Bay vs. Boston- The Fight to the Finish

First, TPC would like to apologize for having all the Jewish holidays scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday's. It really has thrown a wrench into the TPC Blog publication. It wont happen agian next year.

Some ALCS thoughts.

When Big Poppy hit that HR a few days ago to get the score to 7-4, I had flashbacks of 2004 and Dave Roberts steal of 2B.

As much as I hate the Sox, you have to admire their guts, their testicular fortitude and championship like aura. Reminds me of the late 90's Yankees when you could never count them out.

Beckett was as big game as ever yesterday pitching with that strained oblique. Most people cant even shower with a strained oblique and this guy just pitched them into Game 7.

Pappelbon might not be Mo, but he's pretty close. In 16 games he has an ERA of o.oo. WOW.

No matter how it ends for Tampa (and it says here it won't end pretty) you have to like the future of a squad that features the next two great AL players in Upton and Longoria.

You also have to like a staff with Shields, Kasmir and Garza going forward.

And you also need to realize that teams with Great Closers have a huge advantage over teams with good-average closers. Except the Yankees in recent years (and thats because they couldnt get to Mo) almost every team that had the better closer usually won. In the postseason, you need starting pitching that can get you deep into the game, a good bullpen and the GUY when your team needs the big outs (like Paps did the last two games for Boston and Wheeler, who failed in Game 5 for TB when the wheels were falling off). Hitting in the postseason is overrated. Timely hitting is what's needed. Look at Drew and Ortiz. They've done nothing except for each of their two biggest spots, when they both came through. Otherwise they have been awful. Arod needs to take lessons there.

If the rumors are true and Peavy goes to Boston in the offseason, I'm going to be very cranky.

Terry Francona needs to be mentioned in the conversation the great Sports Coaches of the last 20 years at this point. His first WS came at the expense of the mighty Yankees and their 3-0 lead (not to mention al that 1918 stuff). This year, no matter what happnes, he got them to a Game 7 of the ALCS with the Manny stuff, Ortiz being a major shell of his former self, a hurt Beckett, an ineffective Wakefield and a guy named Masterson who is his bridge to Pappelbon. A great, great job.

With all that said, LETS GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick thoughts- Ryder Cup, Yankee Stadium Farewell and more

Just some quick thoughts until I have to time to give the following it's proper due:

1. Yankee Stadium Farewell- No one, AND THE ROCK MEANS NO ONE, does that type of celebration (whether it's the farewell, retiring someone's number, ring ceremony, etc) better than the New York Yankees. yes, it's a lot easier when you have that type of tradition to go to. Still, it's nice to see it done properly.
2. ESPN did a very good job on it's pre game show. Good thing FOX and Joe Buck weren't involved.
3. The Yankee faithful gave Bernie Williams the biggest applaue of the night on Bernie's first return to the Stadium since his "retirement". One of the classiests and greatest Yankees of all time.
4. Paul O'Neil is just plain out Cool.
5. I think the most telling moment of the night was the complete and utter ommission of Roger Clemens from the evening. Not one mention of him. Not one video moment of him. Nothing. And good for the Yankees for doing it that way. F him. The lying bastard deserves it.
6. Great job by the Tiger less U.S. team that defeated the Euro's in the Ryder Cup and finally bringing it home, for the first time since '79. Mahan, Kim, and Boo really shined bright for the U.S.
7. Great job by Azinger for his picks and his leadership.
8. Harrington, Westwood and Sergio all failed to show up for the Euro's.
9. After watching Mahan and Kim, it says here, they will win many majors in the future. Both have incredible talent and the game to win majors. I wouldnt be surprised to see a combined 5 between them.
10. What the hell happened in Flushing? Can this happen again? I thought with the great job of Manuel and having Sanatan and Pelfrey on the mound two of the 5 days they would prevent a collapse. As great a job as they are doing, their bullpen is miserable and Reyes is showing two years in a row he doesnt have the stomach for September baseball. Not many Jeter comparisons nowadays.
11. It was great watching Jim Furyk clinch it for the U.S. He's a great guy, a good role model and the only Major Championship winner that ever had the honor of playing a round with The Peoples Champ.